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    No, really

    Real-life Tony Soprano inspiration enjoying Witness Protection life in Houstonsued over Baby Dolls strip club

    Caroline Gallay
    Oct 5, 2011 | 7:09 am

    To those who posit that outing a former mob boss living in hiding in the Witness Protection Program might not be the best of ideas, we say hell hath no fury like a woman cheated out of her cut of a strip club.

    What's that you say? Harris County woman Lisa Hansegard has filed suit against one James Cabella for cutting her out of a shared strip joint she hired him to manage.

    Cabella, a former mobster-slash-informant who apparently lives comfortably in hiding on Memorial Drive, allegedly cut Hansegard out of the (misleadingly named) Baby Dolls Boutique strip club after she hired him on as manager.

    Hansegard acquired control of the club in 2006 from the estate of her late partner, who died while she was pregnant with his child (it was actually passed down to the kid). Cabella, meanwhile, had been operating a similar venue, The Penthouse Club, just across the street. The two decided to form a corporation with Cabella as manager and Hansegard personally funding the purchase of Baby Dolls for $835,000 in a sale overseen by the probate court.

    Cabella, a former mobster-slash-informant who apparently lives comfortably in hiding on Memorial Drive, allegedly cut Hansegard out of the (misleadingly named) Baby Dolls Boutique strip club.

    Shortly after the sale, Cabella allegedly began denying Hansegard access to the building and denying her funds from the business. The two reached an agreement in 2007 for Cabella to purchase Hansegard's interests in the business for $1.3 million, but the Cabella family made only two payments of $2,500.

    Sometime during these negotiations, Hansegard uncovered Cabella's history as a mobster and informant in the DeCavalcante organized crime family of New Jersey (the real-life inspiration for The Sopranos), and that his real name was Vincent Palermo. The lawsuit states that Hansegard would never have gone into business with Cabella had she known of his background (shocking!), and it didn't help that Cabella had allegedly been funneling Baby Dolls funds into the (assumedly competing) Penthouse Club.

    The "Cabella" family went on to shut down Baby Dolls completely. Look for this one on Law and Order.

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    2 Houston suburbs declared best places to retire and more top stories

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    Oct 31, 2026 | 11:00 am
    The Woodlands
    Visit The Woodlands/Facebook
    Houston suburbs like The Woodlands offer retirees a good quality of life and affordability.

    Editor's note: It's time to catch up on the top Houston news of the week, starting with the best places to retire. Plus, a global favorite for dim sum could be coming to Houston. Read on for our top stories, then plan your Halloween weekend right here.

    1. 2 Houston suburbs relax on top-10 list of best U.S. cities to retire. Houston and nine of its suburbs are earning new acclaim on U.S. News and World Report's list of the best U.S. cities for retirees in 2027. And two northern suburbs, The Woodlands and Spring, are resting easy among the top five nationwide.

    2. Global dim sum powerhouse Din Tai Fung may finally be coming to Houston. One of the world’s most famous Chinese restaurants could be coming to Houston. Global dim sum powerhouse Din Tai Fung appears to be moving forward with a location in the Galleria.

    3. Michelin-rated Houston pitmaster hospitalized with serious medical condition. One of Houston barbecue’s most beloved figures is on the road to recovery after a major medical incident. Quy Hoang, pitmaster and co-owner of Blood Bros. BBQ, suffered a stroke on August 16, his business partner Robin Wong tells CultureMap.

    4. Houston restaurant breaks silence about wage theft allegations. A Houston restaurant has broken its silence about a lawsuit that accuses it of wage theft. Relish Restaurant & Bar issued a statement about allegations made by an employee that it improperly allocated money from the restaurant’s tip pool.

    Little Bird restaurant campechana Campechana at Little Bird. Courtesy of Little Bird

    5. New Orleans-inspired neighborhood restaurant hatches in the Heights. One of this year’s most anticipated new restaurants is opened its doors this week. Little Bird debuted Thursday, October 29.

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